Emerald Theatre shuts down -- what's next?

The Emerald Theatre in downtown Mount Clemens has been padlocked in foreclosure, ending an 11-year run for one of Macomb County’s best known entertainment venue and leaving many speculating what will become of the historic structure.

Talmer Bank and Trust officials on Wednesday afternoon allowed Emerald employees to remove their personal belongings from the onetime vaudeville venue on N. Walnut before they secured the premises and changed the locks.

Co-owner Mike Mitchell said he is working to re-book bands scheduled to perform at the Emerald to either the Ritz in Warren or New York, New York in Chesterfield Township. He said he was surprised when the bank team showed up.

“I personally have been working with the bank and the court-appointed receiver, making payments out of my own pocket to keep the Emerald open but it was decided that they would close the doors,” he said.

Advertisement

James Sarconi, the attorney for Talmer Bank did not return phone calls for comment.

Earlier this month, Talmer Bank bought the theater for $607,000 in a foreclosure sale and sued Mitchell and co-owner Ron Masters for $530,000. The bank then took steps to have the court appoint a receiver during the redemption period during which the defendants could regain the facility.

Mitchell said he had hoped to outright purchase the theater and continue to operate it as an entertainment venue seven days a week instead of only the weekend, which has been the practice in recent years. He saved the website savethemerald.com as part of a fundraising plan where he would have paid Talmer a percentage of the gross sales to stay open. He said he’s also been working to pay off the $3,500 in delinquent personal property taxes to the city of Mount Clemens.

“We had hoped we could raise about $25,000 in the next six weeks,” Mitchell said. “It was going to be a countywide effort, tapping into the pool of musicians out there who love the place. If we were not able to save the business, we were going to give the money to some of our favorite charities, but the bank apparently isn’t going for it.”

The Emerald initially opened in 1921 as a vaudeville theater. It was a known as the Macomb Theatre offering community theater performances until Joe Nieporte purchased it in 2000 and re-opened it a year later as the Emerald.

Nieporte, now a festival promoter, sold his stake in 2010 to Masters and Mitchell, but his name remains on the ownership records because he has not yet been fully paid for his portion.

On Thursday, Nieporte said he was proud of turning the venue into one of metropolitan Detroit’s most successful venues during his tenure. His top three shows were Kid Rock performing at the grand opening, the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl party in 2006 and Alice in Chains.

“I hope somebody with a love and passion for music comes in and opens it, someone who knows how to make it successful again,” Nieporte said.

The Mount Clemens Downtown Development Authority has floated plans to acquire the property and make it a community theater called Clementime. DDA Chairman Steve Saph said he’s been in touch with an undisclosed university to have its theater program run the venue and produce musicals and plays.

“My interest in the building is no secret at this stage,” Saph said. “I am not waiting. I have an attorney who will generate a letter of interest in the property for the bank to consider. I am hopeful for a positive transition will occur for the community.”

Promoter Mikey Eckstein, who had booked the theater for two upcoming shows including Detroit rapper Bizarre on July 20, has scrambled to move that concert to St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit. He called the closure a “sad day for Mount Clemens” because the theater’s owners were “local friendly,” meaning local bands were always welcome to play there.

“Mount Clemens is an event-driven town,” Eckstein said. “With no events at the Emerald, it hurts other businesses and the city itself.”

The Emerald follows two other venues that have closed in the past two years including the Hayloft and the Bank Nightlife. Masters was the common partner in all three nightclubs.

As word spread of the Emerald closure on Thursday, dozens of musicians took to social media to vent their frustrations.

The funk band, B-DAB decided to organize an event to show support for both the Emerald and the Mount Clemens music community. The Million Musician March on Mount Clemens will see dozens, if not hundreds of musical artists, gather near the Macomb County building on Main Street. They initially scheduled it for Aug. 10, but might move it up to Aug. 3 considering the overwhelming support they’ve seen online so far.

“It started as a joke, but within a couple of hours of me posting it, we had a huge response,” said B-DAB frontman Stephen Foster. “When the Hayloft closed, it left the Emerald as the last venue in Mount Clemens and now the Emerald is gone. So we want to show our support for the Emerald and show the city in general how much the musicians care.”